A python ate a woman in Indonesia
By topffer
@topffer (42156)
France
June 17, 2018 5:50am CST
I read this news from AP in the Washington Post and from AFP in the French newspaper Le Monde. In both, some embittered readers were complaining that this trivial anecdote had nothing to do in these serious newspapers. Well, Macron has not yet ordered some new tableware for the Elysée palace, Trump has not yet invaded Canada, but facing the fear of a blank page the journalists need to find something to write about, they cannot print «No news, good news !»
So, yesterday, there was this providential python in Indonesia. A 54 years old woman went during the night to her garden (Le Monde) or her cornfield (WaPo). What was she doing there during the night, Le Monde does not tell it but the WaPo says that «she had been concerned about wild boars... the pigs had been raiding the crops lately.» I deduce that Indonesian wild boars are smaller than European wild boars, you would not see me running on one of the wild boars we have here during the night with a flashlight and a machete telling it «Go away, nasty animal !»
Not seeing her on the morning, her sisters went to the field and found her flashlight, machete and slippers. A 23 feet long python was found not far from there by the people of the village «so bloated that he could hardly move». They killed it, and the victim was found intact with her clothes inside the snake.
You noticed that she followed the Asian habit to leave your weapons and slippers outdoors when you are invited in a home. This woman had good manners. However animal lovers might complain that they killed the snake. If any potential man eater was killed, we would not have anymore lions, tigers, alligators, etc. After all this snake could have eaten as well a couple of pigs.
I should better stop here, my weird irony will be perhaps not understood by every member, although I have learned from life that you can always find weirder than yourself.
Your comments are welcomed.
The photo of an early 17th C Dutch painting by Frans Snyders and Jan Wildens showing a dead lion eaten by rabbits (who would have thought that rabbits were hunting lions for food ?) is mine.
It's the second time in two years that one of the rarest and most gruesome ways to die was documented in Indonesia.
18 people like this
19 responses
@DaddyEvil (137259)
• United States
4 Jul 18
You didn't go yourself to check on this woman, Top? I find that very strange!
The python wasn't yours, right?
And I don't understand why the woman left her machete outside on the ground! She had only to wait for the python to swallow her and cut her way back out of the snake, right?
3 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
4 Jul 18
@DaddyEvil I have used machetes several times, it is difficult to cut yourself. With a snake rolling around, I am not sure that I would try to use it, the first reflex is probably to use hands. I am very calm but I panicked once when doing speleology, and in this case you tend to be paralyzed and to not listen to people around. It lasted 1 mn, but in my head it was hours, and it could have turned very bad. When our life is endangered, and it happened to me a few times, it is difficult to tell how we will react...
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137259)
• United States
5 Jul 18
@topffer Hmmm... you are probably right. It does seem like the time I had time to think without reacting was the worse of the two incidents.
2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23404)
• United Kingdom
18 Jun 18
I have read about this on mylot but not in the papers here. You are correct now the world has been miraculously saved from the brink there is little in the news of interest. Fortunately for the woman her demise would have been quite fast. Every little breath would have been squeezed out of her until she were no more! Horribly way to go though. Shame there was no happy news to spread just doom and gloom!
3 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
18 Jun 18
I would not try to see how long I could survive, but I believe it is less painful than being disemboweled by a wild boar. The place is known to have plenty of pythons around, this woman has been reckless.
There were probably a lot of happy news around the world but people are not interested by happy news, they prefer drama.
3 people like this
@much2say (55616)
• Los Angeles, California
5 Jul 18
That python must've had a VERY big mouth as it she was swallowed whole. I've seen some video that a cat was swallowed whole, but a whole woman ?! I guess it was VERY hungry . Oh my, look at those mean rabbits ganging up on that poor [defenseless???] lion!
1 person likes this
@much2say (55616)
• Los Angeles, California
8 Jul 18
@topffer The Dutch rabbits are vicious and have made the Dutch lions extinct! I quickly looked up other works by these painters . . . there is a definite interest in hunting!
Special exhibit indeed - but I would think the donor would not be pleased! Yes, it was a good opportunity to see it!
Oh gosh, I find so many exhibits to be interesting. One was a Rick Bartow exhibit - he often puts animal and human forms together . . . but what intrigued me was his usage of Japanese writing in some of his works (mostly his name in Japanese). I know he was about "culture" but more about native culture - and I I haven't found his connection to Japan (though I know he has a connection to Vietnam).
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
8 Jul 18
@much2say It looks like hybrids are fashionable actually. We have here an exhibition of drawings by a French artist, Caroline Desnoëttes, called "Hybrides et vous" (Hybrid and you/and with a play on words "Hybridize yourself"). She draws hybrids of animals/humans/plants/furniture, on a Japanese paper "washi" or survival blankets. I give you a link to the PDF booklet. It is in French, but you have the drawings.
@topffer (42156)
• France
7 Jul 18
@much2say The painting proves that Dutch rabbits were eating lions when there were lions in Holland (they have all been eaten since ).
I am not sure that having no arms and hands is a good excuse for a snake.
The exhibition in Marseilles was special, it was the first time that this collection of paintings was leaving Scotland. The donor had forbidden it in his deed, but the trustees decided to change this rule recently. It was the right moment to go to Marseilles. Have you seen some interesting exhibitions recently ?
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (471541)
• Switzerland
17 Jun 18
No news also for the Italian newspapers because the same was reported by all the most important newspaper. A secondary one even added a video of the moment they opened the snake... I have not watched the video. I suppose that they wild boar are in fact small pigs, nobody would dare to go outside in the night to run on a wild boar.
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
17 Jun 18
I would not do it during the day, I do not think that our wild boars would be very impressed by me, and I hesitate to use the horn when I see a big one sunbathing on a path.
The video on the Washington Post is from another 23 feet long man eater killed last year in Indonesia. It was probably the same video on your newspaper. They had really nothing to tell yesterday.
2 people like this
@topffer (42156)
• France
17 Jun 18
@LadyDuck There are weekends like this, especially during summer holidays, we should not complain.
There are many wild boars in the forest where I pick mushrooms, and I have been afraid once when I saw at a few meters from me a mother with her kids. We both ran on opposite directions, but it could have ended badly for me.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (471541)
• Switzerland
17 Jun 18
@topffer I do no know if the video was the old one or a new, it's not the kind of videos I like to watch. Our wild boars are pretty large and dangerous. We are warned not to approach them and call immediately the local gamekeeper. It seems that it was a Saturday without interesting news.
2 people like this
@Daljinder (23236)
• Bangalore, India
5 Jul 18
Animal lovers may have issues with killing of potential man eater. But this python ATE her.
2 people like this
@Daljinder (23236)
• Bangalore, India
6 Jul 18
@topffer If they are danger to us then it is an obvious to defend yourself and even kill them
2 people like this
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36850)
• Pamplona, Spain
19 Jun 18
Poor woman what a way to go.
You go out into your Garden and it seems you can never know what can happen next.
At the moment we don´t have a garden but who prowls around here also no one really knows apart from the odd late night crooner (singer) and then the dogs bark at him.
1 person likes this
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36850)
• Pamplona, Spain
20 Jun 18
@topffer
There you are right and if you can´t see what is out there in the dark do not venture out.
Few words to say there but the poor woman was not thinking that she was going to be eaten up by such a creature.
I don´t think anyone would think of that at all.
1 person likes this
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36850)
• Pamplona, Spain
4 Jul 18
@topffer
Only on Sunday on a program I watch sometimes its called "El Cuarto Milenio" they showed a caption of a video they took of that very python and with it now all open and with the body of the poor woman inside.
In this country they have no sense of ethics really and it could have really upset anyone who is really sensitive.
Iker said for anyone vulnerable not to even look as it made him feel squeamish as well.
1 person likes this
@Carmelanirel2 (8084)
• United States
17 Jun 18
I saw my local news had posted about this, but I didn't read the article. That is awful, I can't imagine being swallowed by a snake.
1 person likes this
@Carmelanirel2 (8084)
• United States
18 Jun 18
@topffer Same here, we have snakes like water moccasins, but nothing like this monster!
1 person likes this
@saritflor (3914)
• Hungary
17 Jun 18
That's so careful, I don't understand if she saw the snake why she didn't run away
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@saritflor (3914)
• Hungary
20 Jun 18
@topffer Hope people know there how to handle this scary thing!!
1 person likes this